And hugh mckay



Af-Patented July 9, 1889l APPARATUS FOR THE MANUPACTURB OP GAS.

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J. M 0R BLOW. APPARATUS POR THB A UFAGTURE 0F GAS.

No. 406,819. Patented July 49. `17889.

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UNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MORI'IOHLOW, OF BEAVER FALLs, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIeNoR OF ONE-HALF ToERAsfrUs T. ROBERTS, OF rII'rUsvILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, AND HUGH McKAv, OFLONDON, oANAD-A.

APPARATUS `FOR THE MANUFACTURE oF GAS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters 'Patent No. 406,819, dated July 9,1889.

Application tied June 9,1887. serial 110.240.743. (Nomaden l To all whomt may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN M. CRLTCHLOW, of Beaver Falls, in Vthe countyof Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Apparatus for the Manufacture of Gas; and I do hereby de-Clare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for the manufactureof gas.

It consists in combining with a water-gas Vproducer or cupola a retortfor the production of hydrocarbon gas by distillation in. vsuch Way thatthe waste product from the water-gas producer shall supply the necessaryheat to drive the retort, and that the distilled coal from the retortmay be used either in whole or in part to supply the carbonaceous chargefor the water-gas producer, together with means for the production ofwater-gas from the charge in the retort, and for cooling` said chargeafter its volatile gases have been expelled and While it is stillincandescent by passing steam through it, and in several otherparticulars hereinafter noted. In this way I am enabled to make bothwater-gas and hydrocarbon gas very economically, utilizing as much aspossible the carbon elements of thel coal in the production of the gasand wasting as little as possible in the shape of fuel.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-Figure 1 is a plan View of a gas-producing plant embodying theprinciples of my invention, drawn in section on t-he line fr. of Fig. 2.Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, on the line y y ofFig. 1. Fig'. 3 is a vertical cross-section on the line z z of Fig. 1,and Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section on the line iu w of Fig. 1.

Like symbols Of reference in dicate like parts in each.

In the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2, 2 2 are anumber of coal-distilliugretorts, made of iron or other refractory material and inclosed Within abrick chamber or iiue 3. Each retort has a charging-hole 4 at the top, ahole 5 at the bottom provided with drop-doors 5* for drawing the charge,and a gas pipe or Outlet 6 for conveying away the gases produced in theretort. Beneath each retort is a tunnel or vault 7, by which access Vishad to the drawing-hole 5. Around the outside of the chamber 3 are anumber of cupolas or gas-producers S, which are preferably built partlyinside the chambei' 3 and are separated therefrom by the reentrant wallsof the chamber, which shield the cupolas from the direct internal heatofthe chamber. At the base of each cupola is an ordinary ash-door 9. .Atthe top is a charginghole 2O and an exit-pipe 21, (having a valve 23,)and at the sides are holes through which branch air-pipes 10 and 11,connected with a main air-blast pipe 12, enter the cupola. 'llhe pipes10 and 11 .have valves 13. One pipe enters at the base and the other atthe top of the cupola. As shown in Fig. 4 each cupola has a dischargepipe or flue 14, which opens into the chamber 3, and is provided with adamper or Valve 15, wherebyit may be closed from the outside ofthe'chamber 3. Steam-pipes 17 enter the several cupolas S, and areprovided with valves.

The operation of 4the plant is as follows: The cupolas 8 are chargedwith coal or coke, and after it is fired the air-blast is turned onthrough the pipes 10 and 11, and the cupolas are thus driven until thecoal therein reaches a state of incaudescence. During this operation thewaste heat and partially-consumed gases from the producer, mixing withthe air from the pipe 10, pass through the flues 14 iu a iiame into thechamber `3, and circulate around the retorts 2, finally escaping throughl stack-lines 19 at the ends of the chamber. The retorts 2 are chargedwith coal, and the heat communicated to them drives off thevaporizablematter in the coal by distillation,

and convert-sit into hydrocarbon gas, which passes out through the pipes6 to the hydraulic main. When theV cupolas have been used long enough toraisetheir contents to an incandescent state, the air-blasts are cutoff, the discharge-fines 14 are closed, and steam is admitted into Athecupolas through theY pipes 17. This steam passing through the body ofincandescent fuel is decomposed and converted into water-gas, (thevalves 23 closed,)

(hydrogen and carbonio oXide,) which is led off through the pipes 21 toa reservoir, or otherwise utilized. Vhen the cupolas have been used longenough to chill the contained fuel, so that it does not produceWater-gas, the valves 23 are closed, the dampers 15 opened, and theair-blasts are turned on until the coal is again brought to anincandescent state, (the waste heat and burning gases meanwhile passinginto the chamber 3,) and the dampers 15Vare then closed, the steamturned on and water-gas produced as before. By alternating the firing ofthe several cupolas 3 some of them may be kept always producingwater-gas, (the valves 23 c1osed,) and others discharging Vtheir wasteheat into the chamber or iue 3, so that the heat in the chamber may bekept constant.

NVhen the coal in any of the retorts 2 has been completely gasified andthe coal therein made thoroughly incandescent, steam-pipes 22 at thebottom of these retorts may be caused to emit steam into them, and thesteam being converted into water-gas (the valves 23 closed) during itspassagev through the retorts is led off through the pipes 6 to Yreservoirs or otherwise utilized. WVhen the VVVor in part the fuelnecessaryY for the producers. In this way I utilize most completely theheat elements of the coal and produce gas economically and with verysimple apparatus. The introduction of the hot coke into the produceralso aids materially in the production of the gas.

I do not desire to limit myself to the precise arrangement ot' the plantwhich I show and describe, since it may be modied by the skilledbuilder. For example, the producers and retorts may be separated fromeach other by some distance, in which case the air-adits 10, which arefor the purpose of supplying air to complete the combustion of thealready partly-burned gases from the producer, may be made directly inthe chamber 3 instead of being inthe cupola. I show this vat b in Fig.'5

1,l where the air-pipe is led through the wall of the chamber. Thechamber 3 may also be changed in form, its purpose being simply to serveas a flue to conductthe heat around the retorts.

The prominent features of my invention are: The production of water-gasby passing steam through the retorts after the gases have beendistilled, whereby the necessary cooling of the charge in the produceris utilized to produce a valuable gas; also in placing an airsupplyeither in the producer or in the ue, whereby air is mixed with the wastegases to produce a more perfect combustion around the retorts; also inthe arrangement of the retorts in a ilue common to all the retorts.

I therefore claiml. The combination, with two or more water-gasgenerators having a common wasteproduct flue, of a coal-distillingretort arranged in said Waste-product iiue, so as to be heated by thewaste products from the watergas generators, said coal-retort having asteamadit'for `the admission of steam at or near the close ofdistillation of the coal, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

2. The combination, with two or more water-gas generators having acommon wasteproduct flue, of two or more coal-distillingretorts arrangedin said waste-product flue, so as to be heated by the Waste productsfrom the water-gas generators, said coal-retorts having each astean1-adit for the admission of steam at or near the close ofdistillation of the coal, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

3. In an apparatus for the manufacture of water-gas, the combination,with a gas-producer, a waste-product chamber, a gas-retort located insaid chamber, steam-adits in the producer and retort, an air-adit at thetop lOO

